Radagaisus (died 23 August 406) was a
Gothic king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
who led an invasion of
Roman Italy in late 405 and the first half of 406.
[Peter Heather, ''The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians'', 2nd ed. 2006:194;] A committed
Pagan, Radagaisus evidently planned to sacrifice the
Senators of the
Christian Roman Empire
Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire when Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, which recognized the catholic orthodoxy of Nicene Christians in the Great Church as the Roman Empire's state religion. ...
to the gods, and to burn
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
to the ground. Radagaisus was executed after being defeated by the general
Stilicho
Flavius Stilicho (; c. 359 – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosiu ...
. 12,000 of his higher-status fighters were drafted into the Roman army and some of the remaining followers were dispersed, while so many of the others were sold into
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
that the slave market briefly collapsed. These
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
later joined
Alaric I in his
conquest of Rome in 410.
[Wolfram 1988:171]
Invasion
Radagaisus's force probably consisted of about 20,000 fighting men.
[Heather, p. 198] Many of the fighters were accompanied by their families and other
noncombatants, meaning that the total size of Radagaisus's group may have approached 100,000.
Radagaisus, whose early career and ultimate origins are unknown, fleeing Hunnic pressures, invaded Italy without passing through the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, which indicates that his invasion began somewhere on the
Great Hungarian Plain
The Great Hungarian Plain (also known as Alföld or Great Alföld, hu, Alföld or ) is a plain occupying the majority of the modern territory of Hungary. It is the largest part of the wider Pannonian Plain. (However, the Great Hungarian plain ...
, west of the
Carpathian Mountains.
Archaeological finds of coin hoards, buried by residents who were apparently aware of Radagaisus's approach, suggest that his route passed through southeastern
Noricum
Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...
and western
Pannonia. About this time
Flavia Solva was burned out and largely abandoned and
Aguntum
The ruins of Aguntum are an ancient Roman site in East Tirol, Austria, located approximately 4 km east of Lienz in the Drau valley. The city appears to have been built to exploit the local sources of iron, copper, zinc and gold. During the ear ...
was devastated by fire. An indeterminate number of refugees fled ahead of his army as it marched over the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
.
It was said by contemporaries that
Arian Christians
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...
swelled his forces.
The
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...
under
Stilicho
Flavius Stilicho (; c. 359 – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosiu ...
mobilized thirty ''
numeri'' (about 15,000 men) from the Italian
field army in response to Radagaisus's invasion.
[Heather, p. 205] A second contingent of Roman troops, possibly recalled from the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
frontier, complemented the Italian forces.
In addition, they received help from
Gothic foederati under
Sarus and
Hunnic forces under
Uldin
Uldin, also spelled Huldin (died before 412) is the first ruler of the Huns whose historicity is undisputed.
Etymology
The name is recorded as ''Ουλδης'' (Ouldes) by Sozomen, ''Uldin'' by Orosius, and ''Huldin'' by Marcellinus Comes. On th ...
.
Alaric I remained inactive through the whole episode, committed by treaty to
Illyricum.
Radagaisus's army had the run of northern Italy for at least six months while the Empire mobilized its forces.
They eventually made their way to the bridgehead community of
Florentia. They
blockade
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...
d the city, where no less than a third of the Goth's troops and allies were killed.
Capture, death, and aftermath
Stilicho's army relieved the
siege of Florentia as the city was approaching the point of surrender. The Roman counterattack was extremely successful, and Radagaisus was forced to retreat into the hills of
Fiesole, about 8 km away. There, Radagaisus abandoned his followers and tried to escape, but was captured by the Romans.
Historian
Peter Heather
Peter John Heather (born 8 June 1960) is a British historian of late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Heather is Chair of the Medieval History Department and Professor of Medieval History at King's College London. He specialises in the fall ...
hypothesizes that Radagaisus's escape attempt may have been compelled by a revolt within his forces.
[Heather, p. 206] He was executed on 23 August 406.
[L. Schmidt, ''Ostgermanen'' 267, following ''Auctarium Havniense'', noted by Wolfram 1988:169.] 12,000 of his higher-status fighters were drafted into the Roman army. Some of the remaining followers were dispersed, while so many of the others were sold into
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
that the slave market briefly collapsed.
Ancient sources
*History of
Orosius
*History of
Zosimus
*Chronicle of
Prosper of Aquitaine
Prosper of Aquitaine ( la, Prosper Aquitanus; – AD), a Christian writer and disciple of Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle.
Life
Prosper was a native of Aquitaine, and may have been educated at ...
*Chronicle of
Marcellinus Comes Marcellinus Comes (Greek: Μαρκελλίνος ό Κόμης, died c. 534) was a Latin chronicler of the Eastern Roman Empire. An Illyrian by birth, he spent most of his life at the court of Constantinople. His only surviving work, the ''Chronicl ...
*
Augustine of Hippo, ''
City of God'', Book 5, Chapter 23
Other accounts
*
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is ...
in the ''History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' (1776)
Chapter 30
See also
*
Gainas
*
Arbogast
*
Odoacer
Notes
References
*
Further reading
*Drinkwater, John F., "The usurpers Constantine III (407-411) and Jovinus (411-413)", ''Britannia'' 29 (1998:269-98).
*Michael Kulikowski, "Barbarians in Gaul, Usurpers in Britain" ''Britannia'' 31 (2000:325-345).
{{Authority control
406 deaths
Gothic kings
Gothic warriors
Year of birth unknown
5th-century Gothic people